21 at 33

21 at 33
Studio album by Elton John
Released	23 May 1980 (1980-05-23)
Recorded	September 1979 – March 1980[1]
Studio	Super Bear, Nice, France Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, California Rumbo, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Pop rock[1]
Length	43:07
Label	MCA (US) Rocket (UK)
Producer	Elton John, Clive Franks
Elton John chronology
Victim of Love (1979) 21 at 33 (1980) The Fox (1981)
Singles from 21 at 33
"Little Jeannie" Released: 1 May 1980 "Sartorial Eloquence (Don't Ya Wanna Play This Game No More?)" Released: 5 August 1980 "Dear God" Released: 14 November 1980

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	Unrated[2]
Smash Hits	7/10[3]

21 at 33 is the fourteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in May 1980, through MCA Records in the US and The Rocket Record Company in all other territories. The album was co-produced by John and Clive Franks, and was primarily recorded in August 1979 at Super Bear Studios in Nice, France. The record was the first since Blue Moves (1979) to feature lyrics written by Bernie Taupin (who contributed to three songs), while John also continued to experiment with other lyricists, including Gary Osborne and Tom Robinson. Contributors to the album include members of Toto and the Eagles, as well as Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, marking their first appearance on an Elton John album since Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975).

The title 21 at 33 was chosen as it was John's 21st album release and released when he was 33 years old.^[a][4] Upon release, the album was a moderate success, reaching the top 20 in both the US and UK and proving far more successful than his previous effort Victim of Love (1979). The record's lead single, "Little Jeannie", peaked at number three in the US, while it stalled at number 33 in the UK. The album sold over 900,000 copies in the United States, missing a Platinum certification.^[5]

After releasing Blue Moves in 1976, John and Taupin took a break from writing with each other which would last four years. In the meantime, John would release A Single Man (1978) with Gary Osborne contributing lyrics and a disco album, Victim of Love.^[1] With 21 at 33, John and Taupin resumed their partnership, though they would not create a full album of material together until Too Low for Zero (1983).^[6] John continued to work with other lyricists as well, with Osborne returning for three songs, in addition to new collaborators Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke.

The two other founding members of the original Elton John Band (active 1969–1975), drummer Nigel Olsson and bass player Dee Murray, reunited with him for two songs. His keyboardist James Newton Howard returned and performed on almost every track, as was the case on Rock of the Westies and Blue Moves. Other musicians included members of the Eagles and Toto, as well as Peter Noone from Herman's Hermits and Bill Champlin and Toni Tennille of Captain & Tennille.

John has not played any of the material in concert since touring in 1980, with the exception of "Little Jeannie", which, despite having been a huge North American hit (#3 Pop and #1 Adult Contemporary in the United States, and #1 in Canada), was included only in the two concerts from 2000 titled One Night Only, and the warm up gig for the two Madison Square Garden concerts in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.^[7]

Notes

• Eleven more songs, excluding the B-sides, were recorded during these sessions: five of which were "Heart in the Right Place", "Carla/Etude", "Fanfare", "Chloe" and "Elton's Song"; these would appear on John's next release, The Fox. Two other songs recorded were French-language duets with France Gall, entitled "Les Aveux" and "Donner Pour Donner", respectively released in France as the A-side and B-side of a 7" single. One song, "The Retreat," was the B-side of the single "Princess" in 1982 and was later included on the US edition of the To Be Continued box set and as a bonus track on the remastered version of the album Too Low for Zero. The other three songs were the B-sides for singles released from The Fox in 1981.
• In 2003, Mercury/Universal and The Rocket Record Company reissued the album on CD, remastered by Gary Moore; the new line-up contained no bonus tracks.

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

• Elton John – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic piano (1, 3, 5, 6), overdubbed piano (1, 3, 5, 6, 8), Yamaha electric piano (4), Wurlitzer electric piano (8)
• James Newton Howard – Fender Rhodes (2, 6, 7), Yamaha CS-80 (2), electronic keyboards (3, 7), acoustic piano (9)
• David Paich – organ (6)
• Steve Lukather – electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9)
• Richie Zito – acoustic guitar (2, 7), electric guitar (5, 8)
• Steve Wrather – electric guitar (7)
• Reggie McBride – bass (1–4, 6–9)
• Dee Murray – backing vocals (2), bass (5)
• Alvin Taylor – drums (1, 3, 4, 6–9)
• Nigel Olsson – drums (2, 5)
• Victor Feldman – tambourine (1, 3, 5, 9)
• Clive Franks – tambourine (4, 6), cowbell (4)
• Lenny Castro – congas (5, 9)
• Jim Horn – brass arrangements (2, 4), piccolo flute (2), alto saxophone (2), tenor saxophone (4)
• Richie Cannata – alto saxophone (7)
• Larry Williams – tenor saxophone (9)
• Chuck Findley – trombone (2, 4), trumpet (2, 4)
• Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (9)
• Jerry Hey – flugelhorn (2, 9), trumpet (4, 9), brass arrangements (9)
• Larry Hall – trumpet (9), flugelhorn (9)
• Byron Berline – fiddle (8)
• David Foster – string arrangements (9)
• Venette Gloud – backing vocals (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Carmen Twillie – backing vocals (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Bill Champlin – backing vocals (2, 9)
• Max Gronenthal – backing vocals (2)
• Glenn Frey – backing vocals (5)
• Don Henley – backing vocals (5)
• Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals (5)
• Curt Becher – choir vocals (6)
• Joe Chemay – choir vocals (6)
• Bruce Johnston – choir arrangements (6), choir vocals (6)
• Jon Joyce – choir vocals (6)
• Peter Noone – choir vocals (6)
• Toni Tennille – choir vocals (6)

• Produced by Clive Franks and Elton John
• Engineers – Clive Franks, Steve Desper (Track 6), Patrick Jaunead (Tracks 1–4, 6–9).
• Second engineers – David Burgess (Tracks 1–4, 6–9), David Leonard, Peggy McCreary and Stephen McManus.
• Recorded at Super Bear Studios (Berre-les-Alpes, France); Rumbo Recorders and Sunset Sound Recorders (Los Angeles, CA).
• Mixed at Sunset Sound Recorders
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Mastering Studio (Los Angeles, CA).
• Studio coordinator – Adrian Collee
• Art direction – George Osaki
• Design and concept – Norman Moore
• Photography – Jim Shea
• Management – John Reid Management, LTD.

• 21 at 33 at Discogs (list of releases)